This is Aperture
by DXP
Summary: Long before Chell faced off against the mad A.I. GLaDOS, before their was test chambers, there were spheres and a woman named Mel, the forgotten test subject. This is her story of Aperture, about the estranged founder Cave Johnson, the development of GLaDOS, the gels, and the endeavour she went through in Aperture Science. Prequel
1. Mel's Life

_To brief you on what this is about is simple. This fanfic is a prequel to Portal/ Portal 2, using the cut protagonist and Co-Op character Mel. MEL IS NOT A OC! _

_I do not own anything, all characters, names, items, etc. are owned by valve._

_April 22, 1973_

The dirt, caked into the brick crevice. Dirt, a true meaning to life. At least how I see it. Dirt poor some call people's life like mine. But I see it not like that, that's a way of not moving on. I try to life past those obstacles but that can often get me straight into hell. One day I'm making 50, the next I'm booted out for "Not being THAT type of person" or "Not RIGHT" So some days I life in the local motel, the next sleeping in the back seat of my car. Some days I pull out my wallet and see a few hundred dollars but today, theirs a ten.

Today I'm walking down that bland walk. The smog rises from...I think a Ford factory. I don't know at least I know it's Detroit. Passing a abandon shop with the painted letters "B R K CAF". A old coffee shop what anyone can figure. But looking at those faded letters I see that rough chinlined face, blonde hair creeping down past the shoulders, patched up shirt and torn jeans that fade around the knees. I've blended into that aging logo over time I guess.

I walk through a thrift shop, where I often get my patched attire. But today I'm just trying to kill time before darkness falls. I let my hands slide behind me on the tables. Suddenly a jab and then a sharp pain, pulling back my hand and trying to rip out a tiny splinter.

It's three now, about around their as I push the glass door open to leave. I often check the fliers on the window, taped along like art work blown about the area.  
"Black Mesa, Pain Job, Waitress..." I mumble to myself.

My eyes though instantly focus on a bright white, as if freshly printed. Haven't seen it to ever, I glance at it readying something about "Aperture Science"

Looking down as read "Get paid $60.00 with ease." I just scoff at that. But the rest interests me. Talking about science innovators and "the future is science". Don't know what that categorizes as but they got my curiosity peaked. I ripped off the poster, even some of the Black Mesa poster which the Aperture poster overlapped, off.

That night as I lounged, and by lounge I mean having by legs kicked up on the front seat, I read more in depth through the flier.  
"_Aperture Science is looking to make more science. And to make more science we need more test subjects, and more test subjects well...you get the point. If we haven't convinced you get here's this. Who want's to make $60.00, cash? All you have to do is come to our Enrichment Center to conduct a few tests." _

Seems simple enough, don't get why they would call something a enrichment center. Sounds like a school or something. But it gets me $60.00. I throw the flier on the dash board and lay on my ripped back seat.

"...$60.00...could get me a new seat..." I mumbled, covering one of the larger holes with a pillow. Little did I know what I was in for in the future.

_Okay short, confusing but It's a introduction to our protagonist. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it in 1st person but...I'll just see. Well please review and tell me what you think and would like to see in this prequel. _


	2. From the Rough to the Science

_And thus we resume This is Aperture. _

_April 23, 1973_

The buildings are scrapped, rusting. The crumbling road moves through the smog, then the various bland houses before simple country side. It's a brief sight though as the wheat fields and small houses quickly are obscured by trees.

The road smooths out though and the traffic dwindles to a few cars. I've haven't noticed how far I've gone by this point, the road starts to climb up a gradual grade with steel guard rails turning to wood and wire.

The radio now starts to go static, probably loosing frequency up in these woods.

The blue flier, crumbled is still on my dashboard.  
The sight of Lake Michigan clear in the distance gives me the impression I'm in the peninsula of Michigan now.

Passing through a small town, I pull up to a gas station to receive gas but the pumps are gone. "_crap" _I think, the tank only half full.

I continue driving, taking a turn onto a interstate for a few minutes before turning onto a state road.

The radio is totally static, a bit annoying really. I flip it off.

"_Ah peace"_

by now their aren't any guard rails and I haven't seen a house in ages. For a major production, company...thing...it sure is out of civilization.

Suddenly it seems someone cut's the fuel line. The car slowly screeches to a halt on a curve.  
"No...no,no,no...GAH!"

I slam the wheel, the horn going off before I just rest my head on it, moaning.

After ten minutes seem to past, or hours, I slam he car door and start walking around. The woods here are a dense place, brush rises like a wall and is hard to pass through.  
I can hear the trickling of water, a stream of creek. One good thing, water to drink.

The movement to the water source though is impossible, I can barley get through the first clumps of undergrowth. The thorn bushes are next. Sharp jabs come from my thighs and calf. A twig catches a small tear in my pants and rips the pant leg down to the end. I'm forced to retreat.

I limb back to the car, my pant legs tattered with green thorns projecting out. Then out of the purple sweat jacket. Another tear around the abdomen section of the jacket. It's a few minutes till most of the thorns and twigs are tossed back into the woods.

A gust of wind blows, April's chill freezes me to the bone. No sight of anything still. I try a few times to restart the car but all fail. The gas was just simple gone.

It's getting near dusk, the purple and orange sky now matches my jacket.

_Click-Click-Click-Click_

I look up from the ground, hearing the clattering of what sounds to be a engine.

Yes, yes it is.

A light blue, rusting car shockingly driving smooth comes into view. I jump over my car's hood to the side of the road, flagging down the car.

The car though suddenly speeds up and drives out of sight, I catch a glimpse of a man in a white lab coat and black hair, the back seats filled with boxes before the car disappears.

A frown grows on my face.

"WAIT!"

But the car has disappeared.

I run my dirt covered hands through my hair before grumbling and slamming my hips.

As to be nearing 7 now, the sun is setting. I'm reading more of the flier at this point. I keep looking at the address in small black print but it doesn't help, not in the middle of nowhere at least.

A faint humming sound I can hear now, probably of a motor. Wait a motor?

I peek up from the flier and see a more fancier, chocolate brown car making it's way down the road. My face reverts to a frown.

"_Rich, not going to help the poor, oh the stereotypes." _

I return to the flier, reading about "Hazardous things".  
Suddenly that humming motor sound cuts, not disappears just cuts. I pull the flier away from my face to see the car is now pulled up alongside the road. The window scrolls down, revealing a man in his 30's, showing signs of age with strands of grey hair but has a full blown brown goatee.

"Need a lift...I'm sure nobody's coming down here at this hour." He says with a booming voice, I don't reply.

He looks a second at the flier in my hand.

"...that for?" He asked.  
"...stuff...stuff you don't need to know about..." I reply, a bit bitter.

"Well sorry I'm the one intruding on your privacy, I'll just be going..." He said, putting his hand on the keys.

Not wanting to spend a night in the wilderness I poke the flier in between the window. A startled look grows on his face for a second before grabbing it, fining out the big creases.

"Well...I'm heading here to, seems everyone is these days...the ones with brains...hop in." He said.

At first I'm reluctant, rich looking stranger, me a poor woman.

"I'm not picking up girls and taking them to a secret place. Your heading to Aperture as a test subject, I'm heading to Aperture too, perfect match." He says.

He got a point. A few seconds later I'm finding myself tossing my pale bag full of well...all I have and riding shotgun, riding off through the forest.

"So...got a name?" He asked.  
"...yes...of course I do." I reply.

"Well...aren't you going to tell me?" He asked.

"...Mel's the name, nothing more, nothing less." I say, a bit slowly.

"Nice name, sounds like french...I wouldn't know of course, haven't left this damn country! Then why would I, I'm running Aperture, making-"

"Money?"

"No...not money...not now at least...Science! Science is the future!"

I don't quite get it, science? he's making science, not money. Must be some sort of catchphrase.  
"So your...fill in the blanks..." I say, raising a hand.

"Fine, since your obviously really off the grid. I'm Cave Johnson, I own, run and do whatever there is a CEO does. I'm the one enforcing my people to make tommorow a better place."  
I just scoff.  
"Wow haven't heard that one before..." I trail off, looking out the window.

"Hey others like some laser lovers...they my tommorow be yesterday, and yesterday today, never moving forward or backward, they just dream. Well my company takes those dreams, shoves them through the wall of reality and make them real." Cave says, driving over a bridge and a river.

"...sounds like you've got quite the ops up here...or where...where is it anyway?" I ask, turning to him.

"Can't you read Mel...not the be rude but look ahead!"

I turn sharply to see a sign "Aperture, 1.5 miles"

I just slowly turn to the window again.

"Y'know your a bit stubborn, rock shoulders, tough skin...I like that, you don't listen to the rules I'm guessing?" He asked.

"...sometimes..." I say.

"Oh right, sometimes..." He says, trailing off.

The road suddenly turns to gravel. A few tractors are off to the side of the road in the mud. The trees start to clear and the car smoothly moves across a brand new bridge, then we slow to a halt at some sort of guard station. We quickly continue into a paved parking lot.

"See, 1.5 miles...or 1.5 minutes...if of course miles depended on minutes..." He mumbled before getting out of the car. I grab that pale bag and step out as well. We both head across a parking lot and down a few steps underground.

"So...why build underground...you trying to hide from the Soviets or something?" I ask.  
He laughs a bit.

"...no, though I'll make sure to do that in the future." He said, writing that down on a tablet.

He pulls out a card and swipes it, and then with that card this steel door unlocks.

"...wait...how?"

"Yep, off the grid person. Come on don't you read the scraps from the trash or something?" Cave asks before stepping behind the door. I follow quickly in suit and we are in a hallway, corridors leading to different areas. The walls are wooden covered and the floor as a orange, white, checker pattern. There are many squirming about, almost all in lab coats.

"Now new test subject I'm assuming, poor IQ so not here for lab department...though you would make it in lab team F-22." He mumbled.

"_Who labels a number like that?" _

"Anyways head down that hallway a right-y-turn-y, down that way and follow the signs." He says, it seems like gibberish but I'm assuming anyone here can get it. I don't even say one word. I head off down the hallway.

_And that concludes the second chapter, really enjoyed this one. Cave will be a more major character in this series but we are finally at Aperture, that's important. Also I got a Aperture R&D reference in, as well as one of the thousand Black Mesa mentions. But till next rime, review, favorite, PM, bye._


End file.
